The Gujarat High Court dismissed a PIL filed by the Daman Liquor Merchants Association. The PIL sought intervention to halt Gujarat police action against its members under the state’s prohibition laws. The court ruled the PIL as misconceived, affirming the legality of Gujarat police action within their jurisdiction.
Ahmedabad: On Tuesday( 20th March): The Gujarat High Court rejected a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Daman Wine Merchants’ Association, which sought the court’s intervention to stay Gujarat police action against its members under Gujarat’s prohibition laws.
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The association expressed concerns over Gujarat police taking action against them when liquor sold in Daman is seized in Gujarat.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee, dismissed the PIL, labeling it “misconceived.” The association had raised objections regarding its members being booked for selling liquor in Maharashtra.
Chief Justice Agarwal referred the plea, stating,
“If you are selling liquor in Maharashtra, nobody is going to touch you. But you are coming to their territory (Gujarat)…you are named in the FIR as supplying liquor in the state of Gujarat. That is why they (Gujarat police) are going to your territory.”
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Dhruvin Mehta, the advocate representing the petitioner, asked the court to restrain Gujarat police from taking coercive action against Daman’s liquor vendors under the Gujarat Prohibition Act. Mehta argued that implicating wine shop owners from Daman, a Union territory with no liquor prohibition policy, amounted to harassment by Gujarat police.
However, the High Court rejected the plea for a blanket ban, stating,
“We fail to understand why the petitioners, who have no concern with the state of Gujarat, would be implicated for illegally selling liquor in the state of Gujarat and cases under the Prohibition Act would be registered against them.”
The judges emphasized that the court should not be turned into an investigating agency. Referring to a previous case regarding an attack on foreign students at Gujarat University, they reiterated that petitioners should not burden the court with investigative responsibilities.
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“This is the job of the investigating agency. They will do it perfectly. And if there is any mistake in the FIR or chargesheet, you can seek a quashing of the FIR and chargesheet. You can get a stay-on-try. All remedies at every stage are available to you. Why would we interfere? This is the legal process of law. We are not supposed to interfere in the legal process and should not take it into our own hands. We are courts of law,” Chief Justice Agarwal affirmed.
Case Title: Daman Wine Merchant Association Through President Versus The State Of Gujarat & Ors
